Build a Log Cabin for $100
(Page 3 of 4)
May/June 1981
By Bill Sullivan
To make a saddle notch, I simply set a log on top of the timber it will eventually rest upon and mark a semicircle, halfway through it, that exactly matches the dimensions of the supporting log. Then I roll the top log over and cleanly chop out the notched area as marked. If the pole doesn’t fit well when I roll it back into place, I just keep trimming until it does. Sometimes, a saw cut at the edge of the notch will help keep the sides even, but it doesn't matter if the fit is slightly ragged … since any open space will be fitted with mortar.
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With our logs all carefully tagged and notched, we devised a ramp — by leaning several long poles against the top of the wall — and placed each timber, in turn, at the bottom of that ramp, parallel to the wall. Then we tied a rope to each end of the top of the wall, looped them under the log on the ground, and brought them back up to the top. Using this simple arrangement, two people (pulling, in tandem, from the opposite side of the wall) can easily raise a heavy log up the ramp and lever it into place on top. We also had to remember, as we built the walls, to alternate the timbers’ large ends in order to keep the assembly stable and level.
The Second Story
When the walls had reached the proper height, we constructed the floor for our upstairs loft bedroom … using log joists just as we had for the main floor. (We were careful, however, to leave openings to accommodate the ladder and the stovepipe that would be installed later.) Then it was time to put on the gables and roof … the “crowning glory” of our little masterpiece.
At this point, many log-home builders give up the “purity” of their project and resort to store-bought rafters and plywood sheathing. We were still determined to finish our house with local materials, though . . . so we used small logs — down to four inches in diameter — for the gables, and held them in place with 29 long, straight poles that also serve as purlins, or horizontal rafters, to support the roofing itself.
It probably would have cost us more than $1,000 to have our cabin roofed by a contractor, but — with some luck — we were able to do the job ourselves, for free! After we decided to use a cedar-shake roof, we walked the local beaches until we found a large cedar log among the driftwood that often washes in during winter storms. Rejoicing at our good luck, we cut the log into 24-inch bolts, and split each of those into half-inch shakes with a mallet and a cleaving tool called a froe.
The shakes were then fastened right onto the purlins with galvanized nails, starting with a double course along each eave. Every row of shakes starts eight inches higher than did the one before it . . . giving the entire housetop a triple layer of shakes. Furthermore, only 8 inches of each slab is exposed to the weather, so our roof doesn’t leak and will probably last for a hundred years! In addition, the ridgepole is protected by a double row of shakes that overlap four inches toward the leeward side (the slope opposite prevailing winds). Once again, we had to remember — as we placed the roofing — to leave a hole for the stovepipe (the opening is fitted with a store-bought metal flange) … so the flue wouldn’t have to be routed through a window.
